A slightly different take on it: Canon has the specs that many consumers think they want. Nikon has the specs that working photojournalists know they need. Sony has specs that are trying to out-do Canon at their own game.

Meanwhile, the rumormill is talking about a forthcoming announcement from Nikon on what will be called an MX format, presumably some variant on medium-format with a larger than 24x36mm sensor. If Nikon can undercut the existing medium-format vendors on price while yielding the same quality, they could make a hell of a splash. Or, this whole thing could be pure fiction.



The Canon 5D Mark II is definitely going to be on the buy-it-now path for everybody who owns a 5D, and that alone will make it quite a successful camera. I expect that Canon pros will also pick them up as backup / remote bodies. Canon used to be the only game in town with "full-frame" sensors, giving them a non-trivial sales advantage, even for cheaper bodies. (It's all about selling the system, not an individual camera.) Nikon and Sony now also occupy that same space, although the lower resolution of the present Nikon bodies may hurt them in the perception of people who think more megapixels is a big deal.